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Longhi, Plumb win Continental Tire Challenge

June 29, 2012

Matt Plumb celebrates his run at Watkins Glen, where he won with co-driver Nick Longhi. Photo by Grand-Am

Everything this season seems to be going right for Rum Bum Racing in the 2012 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Co-drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb on Saturday picked up their series-leading fourth win of the year in the Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen International.

Driving the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 911 Carrera, Plumb claimed the lead from Gunter Schaldach on lap 40 of the 59-lap event. He held the lead through two late-race restarts following full-course caution periods and held off a charging Lawson Aschenbach on the final lap to win by 0.318 second.

“It's just a team that is working together right now and there is some luck involved,” said Longhi. “We're not crazy enough to think that it's all about us, because the level of competition at this point is unbelievable. You have to be perfect and you have to get the strategy perfect.”

The victory win moved Plumb and Longhi into the lead in the Grand Sport driver standings by one point over John Farano and David Empringham, 193-192, with three races remaining on the 2012 series schedule. Aschenbach and co-driver Eric Curran came home second in the No. 01 CKS Autosport Chevrolet Camaro GS.R, with Farano and Empringham third in the No. 83 Tower Events Grandstand Seating & Hospitality Sales Porsche Carrera.

For the second time in the past three races, Chad Gilsinger and Michael Valiante teamed up to earn the Street Tuner-class win in the No. 92 Red Line Oil/HPD Honda Civic Si. Valiante took the class lead from Pierre Kleinubing on lap 33 and led a race-high 27 laps en route to the victory. Gilsinger and Valiante earlier this month claimed their first ST win, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“It's just ironic that my first win came at our home track and this win came where I got my license,” Gilsinger said. “I did my first school here. The next one is Indy, and I'm really hoping for that because that's where I'm from originally. Hopefully we can three-peat.”

Kleinubing and Tom Dyer finished second in the ST class in the No. 31 Cybernation/i-Moto/Mazda/EMI Mazdaspeed 3, with James Clay and John Capestro-DuBets completing the ST podium with a third-place ride in the No. 80 Johnstone Supply/unitedBMWonline/Powerflex/Escort/CRC BMW 328i.

Kleinubing moved into the lead in the ST driver standings by 25 points ahead of Tom Long, who finished 10th on Saturday. Co-drivers Nic Jonsson and Andy Lally, who came into the race sharing the points lead, fell to third in the standings following a 28th-place run in the No. 10 Infinity Audio/Kia Motors America/Rocky Tools Kia Forte Koup.

Next up for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge is the series' inaugural race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.